"But I seem to be a victim of my own wishes where you are concerned.” His expression hardened. “What have you come here for, Alina?”

I felt it then, the vibration along that invisible tether. I pushed away from it. I would not go to the Darkling now. I wouldn't go to him ever again. But still, I knew wherever he was, he was grieving.

But I also felt the Darkling’s power, the power of the Black Heretic, the power of the Fold. Like calls to like.....This time, I didn’t fight. I let go of my fear, my guilt, my shame. There was darkness inside me. He had put it there, and I would no longer deny it.

Some days it took everything in me not to stand up in the middle of breakfast and shout, “The Darkling kissed me!”

"I know the truth in your heart. The loneliness. The growing knowledge of your own difference.” He leaned in closer. “The ache of it.”

“Shut up.” He smiled. “Go on, stamp your foot, fight your true nature. All the while, your country suffers.” “Because of you!” “Because I put my trust in a girl who cannot stand the thought of her own potential.” He rose and rounded the desk.

He leaned back and folded his arms. “You have been anything but convenient, Alina.”

"Would you throw yourself into the sea?” “Not unless I could take you with me."

He let his fingers trail over the collar. “It’s mine as much as yours, Alina.”

“You can’t control the Fold. It has to be destroyed.” “Careful, Alina,” he said with a slight smile. “I’ve had the same thought about you.”

I crossed the room, coming to stand before the desk. “Then why give me a second amplifier?” I asked desperately, grasping for an argument that would somehow make him see sense. “In case you’ve forgotten, I tried to kill you.” “And failed.” “Here’s to second chances."

“It’s true,” I said softly. “You are stronger, wiser, infinite in experience.” I leaned forward and whispered, my lips brushing the shell of his ear. “But I am an apt pupil.”

After a long moment, he said, “Aleksander.” A little laugh escaped me. He arched a brow, a smile tugging at his lips. “What?” “It’s just so … common.” His smile deepened and he cocked his head to the side. It almost hurt to see him this way. “Will you say it?” he asked.

I caught the briefest glimpse of surprise before his face shuttered again. “There are two thrones on that dais. You could see me anytime you liked.” “You’re offering me a crown? After I tried to kill you?”

He dropped his hands. I saw the realization strike him. He was truly alone. And he always would be.

“I think you fear this thing that binds us.” It didn’t frighten me. Not anymore. I took a slow step forward. He tensed but did not move away. “I am ancient, Alina. I know things about power that you can barely guess at.” “But it’s not just power, is it?” I said quietly.

I snatched at the Darkling’s sleeve. “We had a deal. I haven’t done anything. You said—” The Darkling looked at me with cool quartz eyes, and the words died on my lips.

Her questions had troubled him, but Alina always had a talent for getting under his skin.

Had the Darkling had friends like this? People whom he’d loved, who had fought for him, and cared for him, and made him laugh? People who had become little more than sacrifices to a dream that outlived them?

“There’s something I’ve been wondering." I waited. “The night that Baghra told you what I intended, the night you fled the Little Palace, did you hesitate?” “Yes.” “In the days after you left, did you ever think of coming back?” “I did,” I admitted. “But you chose not to.”